Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the psychopathic mind. Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?

After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.

But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.

He knows what could happen if only one little thing goes wrong…

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Evelyn Talbot is a psychiatrist about to open Hanover House. There, she will be studying serial killers and how their psychotic mind works. This job won’t be easy for her since the patients will not make it easy. They do not want to be transferred to Hanover House and the people at Hilltop, Alaska do not want to have serial killers near them. But Evelyn wants to see what drives these killers to do such horrible things because her high school boyfriend tortured her best friends and her then killed her best friends in front of her… Then he leaves her for dead.

This prequel to Her Darkest Nightmare, which comes out in 2016, is absolutely amazing. While I’m not a fan of third-person POV’s, this story gripped me right from the start and I’m pretty sure my heart was racing all the way through the end, wondering what was going to happen. Evelyn has to face a lot with those serial killers and we get some glimpse on how bad they can be, at least with one of them. This will obviously make for a very interesting and extremely intriguing series! There’s also a romance that I totally started shipping between Evelyn and Amarok, the trooper in Alaska and I have to say I want more of them! Evelyn is scarred by what happened to her so she’s reluctant in having any relationship with a guy but I’m sure Amarok will gain her trust in no time. Amarok didn’t want the Hanover House facility to be in Hilltop, Alaska but now that he has gotten to know Evelyn, his focus has shifted into protecting her at all costs while helping her to have fun and enjoy life. I think this romance will help both characters in their growth and I think they could end up complimenting each other very well as the series progresses.

As I mentioned before, this story is told in third-person POV and we see it from Evelyn and Jasper, Evelyn’s ex-boyfriend and murderer. His introduction to the story gave me chills. His thoughts are scary and I definitely do not like him at all but he makes the story a whole lot interesting and chilling with his presence.

I cannot wait to see what Her Darkest Nightmare will bring. This story had enough suspense as it is so imagine a full-length novel! I’m beyond excited to see what happens next!

About Brenda Novak

It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author career.

However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.

Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.

Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Many of her novels have won or placed in contests such as the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Write Touch, the Award of Excellence and the Beacon Award for Published Authors.

Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. She juggles her writing career with her children’s softball and soccer games, field trips, carpool runs and homework sessions.

When she’s not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually working on her annual fundraiser for diabetes research—an on-line auction held at her website May 1st – May 31st. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking–she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!

Genesis is a 22-year-old girl who lives in Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean. She's obsessed with Instagram (@lattenightsbooks) and coffee shops. When she's not reading or on social media, she can be found eating, at the beach, being with her boyfriend and/or hanging out with friends.

I’ve read a few books by this author and she’s amazing at what she does. They’ve been full romances though so I’m very intrigued by this one. I love the idea of her treating serial killers. This is morbid, but that’s just so fascinating. The possibility of a romance between Evelyn and Amarok also definitely appeals to me.
I’m not much for prequel novellas, but I’ll check it out once the first book releases.
Wonderful review, Genesis!

I’ve read a few books by this author and she’s amazing at what she does. They’ve been full romances though so I’m very intrigued by this one. I love the idea of her treating serial killers. This is morbid, but that’s just so fascinating. The possibility of a romance between Evelyn and Amarok also definitely appeals to me.
I’m not much for prequel novellas, but I’ll check it out once the first book releases.
Wonderful review, Genesis!